whichwaysup Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 Since moving to Wilmington a year ago, I've been working very deliberately to learn the various fishing opportunities the area offers. It's been a heck of an education. My first major breakthrough was learning the fall fishing pattern in the inlets and the intracoastal, and wow, what an incredible trout fishery we have! I hired a great guide (John Huff) to show me the ropes, and that investment paid off huge dividends in the trips I took afterwards. Winter hit and my fishing trips got slow, so I reached out to John again to learn the Cape Fear river, primarily for Striper. Once again, John delivered a great education and taught me enough to keep my rods bent all winter and well into Spring with Striper, Reds, and Trout. When summer hit, I was stumped. Everything I knew was getting me a fish here, a fish there, but nothing like the fishing I knew was available. I'd learned the basics of the river, the inlets, and the intracoastal, but the marshes were a complete mystery to me. I'd made several forays into them, only to come up with consistent polecat experiences. John Huff admitted that the Marsh wasn't his field of expertise, so I reached out to a friend of his, Seth Vernon. I've met a lot of guides, some great, some good, some not so good, but Seth and John, while polar opposites, are two of the best guides I've fished with. Enjoyable companions, happy to teach, and experts on finding fish. Last week, Seth opened an entirely new world up to me and I'm eternally grateful. Prior to that trip, I had struck out every time I headed into the marsh (and in hindsight, I was doing everything 100% backwards). Since that trip, I've consistently had phenomenal trips. I have 5 kids, 4 of which are old enough to enjoy fishing. As a dad, I have to be their guide, so having a real guide show me how to put my kids on fish and help them learn to love the sport is priceless. It's also nice to help a long time friend learn the ropes around here when the kids can't come. Here are a few pics of this week's trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanjj Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Nice pics ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted August 1, 2017 Report Share Posted August 1, 2017 3 things.... 1. I cant believe Huff admitted he wasnt an expert at everything. 2. I love seeing the pics of kiddos catching fish & smiling. 3. With 5 kids, you and/or your wife are either part of the lucky sperm club or yall plan to work well into your 80's cuz kids aint cheap and neither are all the grandkids youll have running around! Enjoy all your blessings!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted August 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Thanks Conocean. Yeah, Huff is a good guy - I love fishing with him. A major education every time we go. As for the kids, God gives you what you need, I suppose. I never wanted to be a father, but looking back on it, I can't think of anything in the world I could have done that would have given me the same sense of purpose. Just need to keep trying to live up to the responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewesYourDaddy Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 On 8/5/2017 at 1:00 PM, whichwaysup said: I can't think of anything in the world I could have done that would have given me the same sense of purpose. Just need to keep trying to live up to the responsibility. Such a true statement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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